Shooting w/out hearing protection

3081 Views 31 Replies 28 Participants Last post by Double Naught Spy, Oct 5, 2002

traevin

Discussion Starter · Jun 7, 2001

In a gunfight, chances are you're not going to have a chance to slip on your Peltors, and it's pretty unlikely that you train much without hearing protection, so do you think accuracy will suffer from the noise of gunshots?

My guess is that your survival instincts and heightened adrenaline level would kick in enough that accuracy wouldn't be affected. But I'm interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

RUSSEL213

· #2 · Jun 7, 2001

first, glad your back, i have been chasing your posts for the last half hour!!!!

people i talk to that have been in gun fights say that the sound is not a factor, for the reasons that you listed. whats amazing, is under stress, when i had a bad guy in my sights i could hear the saftey being pressed off on my colt, very clear sound.

what gets me is some people who never wear ear protection, because its not "life like"
your ears are important. i have had blocked up ears for two weeks now, and i finally went to the dr. to have something done. i could not imagine having to deal with a permenant hearing loss over something i know i could have avoided.

were your ear condoms, or your gonna screw up your ears! (yes pun intended)

russel the cop

------------------
CHANCE FAVORS THE PREPARED MIND....

See less See more

Wit

· #3 · Jun 7, 2001

It happened to me once at a match. I had to shoot off with my friend. I was so excited (nervous) that I forgot to put my muff on. After first round, the noise really bothered me and I lost concentration, and you know who won the match.

Nowadays, I even use ear plugs when doing the lawn mow.

Citizen_Gilmore

· #4 · Jun 7, 2001

I went shooting and forgot my ear plugs once, ONCE!! No difference in accuracy, shot about 200 rnds.. It hurt though, and the next day chunks of wax was coming out of my ears, i guess it broke lose from my ear drum vibrating.. -Gilmore

------------------
ME,WE!

Ken Neal

· #5 · Jun 7, 2001

I can truthfully say that the noise was not an issue in real shooting situations. The auditory shutdown that you hear about is real.

On the range, you are not under the same stress so the noise is definatley a factor. I have a documented hearing loss and a hearing aid, a real PITA. I wear custom made plugs and muffs now. Dont be fooled into thinking that plugs are enough, the small bone behind the ear is at risk, wear muffs when you shoot.

[This message has been edited by Ken Neal (edited 06-07-2001).]

Rosco Benson

· #6 · Jun 7, 2001

Ear protection is a good thing and helps preserve one's hearing, but I do find it distressing to observe folks placing too much priority on covering their ears. It's probably not healthy to make one's conditioned response to a gunshot to grab for one's ear-muffs.

Also, one needs to be acquainted with the report of one's weapon so as not to be startled by it in the event that one must fire without donning one's muffs or inserting one's plugs. One of the things I routinely ask those who advocate .223 carbines for "home defense" is whether they've fired the weapon, sans ear-muffs, indoors? If they have not, they are quite likely to be somewhat stunned if they ever have to. They will also find that they can't hear very much for a while after firing.

Rosco

nr123

· #7 · Jun 7, 2001

There were numerous times during my active LEO career that I had murderers, robbers, and armed thugs in my sights (luckily never had to shoot). Hearing protection or being hesitant to shoot because of not having ear protection never entered my mind.
Any time on the range, I always have the "muffs". I am still active in teaching firearms, but we never train without hearing protection.

------------------

shane45-1911

· #8 · Jun 7, 2001

Good points by all, but Ken said it the way I would have if I got here first.

I have had to shoot under stress, and I don't remember the noise as being a factor at the time - I didn't even hear it. I sure remember it vividly when I forgot to put my muffs on at the range once, however.

[This message has been edited by shane45-1911 (edited 06-07-2001).]

Gargoyle

· #9 · Jun 7, 2001

I was wondering about the noise level of my slug gun before hunting my first season. Whe the deer started running and the slugs started zinging, I didn't notice a thing.
In training, I believe "training as you fight", but with ear protection I believe "training hard and smart", not just hard.
One incident of flamming a bad guy your ears can recover from. Years of repeated gunfire will hurt you much more.
I guess the longterm exposure to sounds gets you pretty bad, so I wear ear plugs while mowing, farming, and don't ride down the highway w/windows down.
I think my 6 hours a day for three years, exposed to the constant hum of M16 fire has done some damage. Even with wearing protection through it all.

Patrickl

· #10 · Jun 7, 2001

I never wore hearing protection during our little hikes in Southeast Asia. Even when we were in the midsts of a heated political debate I didn’t wear protection and I could hear commands perfectly but the muzzle reports didn’t sound overly loud. I’ve had an exchange on the streets here in America and it too was odd but not loud.

Now, one day we were out plinking away and I got myself up next to an empty 55-gallon drum and let loose with six rounds of full bore 158 grain .357. It took a whole day before everyone quit sounding like Donald Duck. Someone also mentioned lots of earwax falling out. That very thing happened to me after the range incident also.

On the range I wear earplugs and muffs but unfortunately I believe that the years of no protection have caught up with me also. I suffer from hearing loss and “tenitus,” which is a condition where I always hear a hissing sound in the background.

Someone also mentioned that they believed that there shouldn’t be so much emphasis placed on hearing protection because you need to know what your gun will sound like under combat conditions. I respectfully disagree. Under combat conditions you won’t even notice the report or remember it for that matter.

See less See more

Gerald Kuntze

· #11 · Jun 7, 2001

Anyone got any info on whether a low pressure round like a .45 ACP would be less damaging than a high pressure round like a .357 or 10mm? It would be one more reason for sticking with the big one.

Double Naught Spy

· #12 · Jun 7, 2001

Well, you should train as you fight. So once a week, I head down to the range in my boxers and nothing else, barefoot, nappy-headed pillow hair and all, lay down on the floor like I am asleep and pretend the window breaks and I have to get up, find my gun, and recon the range like it was my house until I find the target and blast it away. NO eye protection, no ear protection. And I call that reality - NOT!

Seriously, we have all heard a gunshot unprotected. It is not a smart thing to repeat the event. There is no reason to practice without hearing protection and none to practice without eye protection. If you watch the video from the Hollywood bank robbery, you will see a lot of cops with plugs or muffs on their heads and many wearing eye protection as well. There is one guy obviously wearing clear shooting glasses. We don't all have the opportunity to don safety gear, but it is a wise idea if you can.

Hearing loss is cumulative. Once you practice enough without hearing protection in order to get a feel for reality, the reality is that you will be experiencing a constant ringing, you will lose high end sounds first (like not being able to hear a cell phone ring), then low end sounds will start becoming muffled. More reality sets in when you realize that you are so deaf, you can't hear the window break and you don't know you have been burgled until you get up the next morning and find you TV gone.

See less See more

traevin

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 7, 2001

Originally posted by Double Naught Spy:
Well, you should train as you fight. So once a week, I head down to the range in my boxers and nothing else, barefoot, nappy-headed pillow hair and all, lay down on the floor like I am asleep and pretend the window breaks and I have to get up, find my gun, and recon the range like it was my house until I find the target and blast it away. NO eye protection, no ear protection. And I call that reality - NOT!

L&LOL. Did anyone ever tell you that sarcasm is the lowest form of humor

See less See more

shane45-1911

· #14 · Jun 7, 2001

Originally posted by Double Naught Spy:
Well, you should train as you fight. So once a week, I head down to the range in my boxers and nothing else, barefoot, nappy-headed pillow hair and all, lay down on the floor like I am asleep and pretend the window breaks and I have to get up, find my gun, and recon the range like it was my house until I find the target and blast it away. NO eye protection, no ear protection. And I call that reality - NOT!

LOL DNS !!!

See less See more

Secmat

· #15 · Jun 7, 2001

I've been in situations with both rifle and handgun and like the others the noise was not an issue. In a non stress incident it's a different story altogether. Ouch! The doc has told me that I do have nerve damage to my hearing, but that does go with the territory.

Black Pearl 45

· #16 · Jun 7, 2001

heck i wear ear plugs when i go to concerts, dont much like it when im trying to sleep a couple hours later and the ringing in my ears keeps me up, and after some concerts the ringing can last for a few days, NOT GOOD
an added plus is the ear plugs filter the high pitch distortion sound and the music sounds better

my rule is -- IF YOUR EARS ARE RINGING THERE IS DAMAGE BEING DONE

------------------
Caspian frame + Colt parts = Col-spian? or Cas-olt?

See less See more

doctor j

· #17 · Jun 8, 2001

What? Huh? Say again. What'd he say?

pokey074

· #18 · Jun 8, 2001 (Edited)

.

traevin

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jun 8, 2001

I can vividly remember four times where I forgot to put my hearing protection back on, or was purposely shooting without any. Once with a 9mm (not a big deal), once with a .45 (ringing for quite a while) and once with a .308 (stinging pain). There was another time with a 12-gauge slug while deer hunting, but I don't seem to remember it being all that bad. I was probably too interested in the deer flopping around in a thicket about thirty yards from where I was crouched next to a maple tree.

MuzzleBlast

· #20 · Jun 8, 2001

Originally posted by traevin:
L&LOL. Did anyone ever tell you that sarcasm is the lowest form of humor

I disagree. It takes intelligence and wit to be a really good smartass!

1 - 20 of 32 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.